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Have you ever gotten that itch? No, I’m not talking about a rash, silly. I’m talking about that itchy feeling you get when you’re bored with your look. You want to change something but you don’t know how. And sometimes it’s just not possible to do something drastic. And other times you really just want something different only for a day or two.

Well, my lovelies. I have news for you: A change of style doesn’t always have to be drastic or permanent.

Here are Haartek’s top five ways of changing up your look temporarily:

1. ACCESSORIES

From headbands to fascinators, hair accessories are majorly in-trend. And we’re not talking about little girl barette or bauble hair ties – these are accessories full-grown women are not afraid to rock!

Try a headband with a flower detail or the feather or glitter extension craze for a bit of flair that you can remove anytime.

2. GO KINKY

Are you tired of your normal hair texture, be it straight or curly, but you don’t have the time or patience to weld a styling tool? Well, why not texture while you sleep? Wash your hair before you go to sleep and put it in a loose braid. When you wake up your hair will be mostly dry and have amazing loose waves when you take out the braid. Use a beach texturizing product like Kevin Murphy’s Hair Resort spray and you’ll have a chic, gorgeous, un-done style with little effort! Don’t want to go to sleep with your hair wet? Braid your dry hair in the morning and run a flat-iron over the plait and get the same look!

3. USE THOSE TOOLS

While beach hair is brilliant in the summer, if you want a way to change-up your texture going into the fall, brandishing a flat-iron or hot rollers is the way to go! If you have curly hair, try going straight for a couple of days. If you have straight hair, try using the flat-iron for curls or setting it with hot rollers. There are countless online tutorials for using these tools (here’s our own Carla demonstrating flat-iron curls) and your stylist would be happy to teach you as well.

An important thing to remember when using hot tools is to always use a heat-protection serum or spray before applying heat to prevent any damage!

4. GO FAUX

Who said you have to be stuck with the length of hair you have? Certainly not me! If celebrities can appear to have short hair one day and long hair the next, why can’t you? And no, I’m not talking about costly and permanent extensions (though, those are an option). I’m talking about rockin’ the faux look. Celebrities with long hair have been tucking and pinning their long hair under, creating the illusion of a bob – a faux bob, if you will. Alternately, those who already have a bob can use clip-in extensions to add length temporarily or to add a pop of colour (think bright purple).

5. COLOUR FOR A DAY

Do you wish you could partake in the pastel hair trend but are just to chicken to make the committment (or have a job that wouldn’t allow it)? Well, your wish will soon be granted. In the fall, Kevin Murphy will release Color.Bug, a temporary hair colour (think applying eye shadow to your hair) that adds body as well. It will come in pink, purple and orange and will last until you wash it out… so you can have crazy coloured tips for the weekend and be back to normal for the office by Monday. Sounds pretty sweet to me.

So now you know five simple ways to change your style, even just for the weekend! Go crazy… at least a little. Why not, right?

It’s almost the end of June and wedding season is well underway, but are you a bride-to-be that has no clue what to do with her hair on the big day? Fear not! That’s what blogs like these are for!

Whether your hair is short or long, curly or straight, the creativity and skill of your stylist will ensure that you find the perfect ‘do for your wedding! Doing your research is important too, however. Have a look at the cornucopia of wedding magazines and websites for style inspiration – this will give you an idea of the hairstyles you like… and give a reference for ones you hate.

Once you have an idea of the style you think will suit your type of wedding, the most important step is booking a consultation with your stylist. If possible, find a quiet day at the salon where your stylist can dedicate a couple of hours to trying several different styles on you. Bring in any pictures of hair you like and accessories you may use to help the stylist create what you have envisioned. The consultation is especially important if you plan on using extensions – the stylists needs time to order the right kind and you may have to colour them to match your hair.

“It’s a big day and you want it to be perfect ,” says Stylist Olivia. “You want to eliminate any stress you can the day of, and knowing exactly what your hair will be like will do that. Especially if you are using extensions or accessories!”

Here are a few of our favourite bridal styles, from boho to princess, to help inspire you for your big day!

There’s just something special about beautiful, wavy hair – almost something better about it.

It’s not straight… it’s not curly… it offers the best of both worlds: extra fullness and bounce, but a polished look as well. You can dress waves up, or go beachy casual for weekends or day-to-day.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. With naturally wavy hair comes frizz. And if you have straight hair, it’s too much effort. So how can you get effortless, envy-worthy, shiny waves?

If you already have naturally wavy hair and just want to enhance it all you need are a few great hair products, a blow dryer and a diffuser. Techniques for the perfect wave vary slightly from person to person, but here are a few tips from our stylists!

Debra and Lan, Associates at Haartek, share their secrets for full waves:

3) Apply mousse to wet hair – make sure you use enough product or you won’t have the desired effect – and comb through evenly. Kevin Murphy’s Body Builder is a great mousse. Debra prefers a curl enhancing product like KMS Curl Up Creme.

4) Lean forward and blot with a towel again.

5) Dry with a diffuser, going section by section, spending 30 seconds on each, then repeating until you get the wave you want.

Both Debra and Lan agree that in order to get great waves, the less you touch and disturb your hair, the better!

And to keep your waves going throughout the day, it’s important to refresh your hair with a revitalizing product or even with just water, according to Susan, a Director at Haartek. She is a big believer in wetting your hands with water and running your fingers through the waves to keep down the frizz. “It also helps to reactivate the existing product that’s in there. Schwarzkopf’s Moisture Kick Conditioning Spray and Eufora’s Curl ‘N Spray Revitalizer are great as well,” she says.

If you want that beachy texture, products like Kevin Murphy’s Hair Resort and KMS Sea Salt Spray are great to use before diffusing in addition to a mousse for a messier look.

This is all well and good if you have a natural wave to enhance, but what if you want volume and wave for the day after washing or if you have straight hair? Associate Carla demonstrates on how to get the look with a flat iron.

So don’t be a slave to flat, straight hair. Embrace any wave you have and enhance it for the summer. If you can’t actually be sitting at the beach with a soft breeze blowing through your ocean tousled hair, at least you can look like it!

Gone are the days when perms were just tight curls for short hair on old ladies. No offence, Grandma, but it’s just not very modern.

The good news is that there are now modern options for perming your hair. In the past, perms were associated with lots of ammonia, a rotten egg-like scent and a rigid curl without much bounce. The chemicals used were much stronger and caused more damage to the hair. These days, thankfully, perms are less damaging and aggressive. Although they aren’t as long-lasting, they give great bounce in fine, thin and even coloured hair. Perms come in different strengths depending on your hair type and condition, so just because you have dry, coloured hair, doesn’t mean you have to rule out a perm.

“Eufora has one of the mildest and friendliest perms that has come out in the last 15 years,” says co-owner, Remo. “It keeps the integrity of the hair a lot better.”

And the rods used to set the perm are much smoother than in the past, keeping the hair smoother when it’s wound and not too tight. This all translates into a smooth, natural, bouncy curl or wave.

Now, improving the actual formula and tools are well and good and all, but that doesn’t matter much if it would still leave you looking like Edith Bunker. But here’s the good news. A perm can give your hair texture ranging from the loosest, beachy wave to the tightest afro – it all just depends on the size of roller used to set it. So you don’t have to have a granny perm. Leave that to the grannies. They rock it better anyway.

“If you want that beachy wave that’s very in right now, a very loose, textural perm to add movement and style to flat hair is the way to go,” says Sandra, an Associate Stylist. “Perms aren’t just a thing of the past. Even celebrities get them.”

And even more good news? Perms are pretty low maintenance. Aside from having to wait 48 hours before you wash your hair after getting the perm, you just need to put in a nice curling cream or balm and diffuse it with a dryer for your desired look. And even more good news? In the olden days perms got frizzier as time passed, but now they just fade out. You can expect your perm to last between four to six months, depending on the tightness of the curl.

One of our assistants, Johnna, recently got a loose wave perm and she couldn’t be happier. “I love it. It gives me a lot more volume because my hair was very straight and flat before,” she says. “It’s also given me more options because I can still wear it straight if I blow dry it, but it will also hold a bigger curl better than it did before if I use an iron.”

So there you go – the facts about modern perms. I don’t know about you, but I’m convinced. Bring on the sexy, beachy waves for Spring!

Everyone who has hair on their pretty little heads (even those with only a few left) has a certain ritual that they go through with their hair. Granted, some have more lengthy rituals than others (I am certainly guilty of that), but regardless of how long it takes, that ritual still exists. Even my boyfriend who doesn’t care about his hair has one – you can’t escape it.

Some are lucky enough to have just wash- or wake-up- and go hair, while others spend hours drying, straightening or curling theirs. Some just don’t care and some care too much. But try telling someone that their ritual is wrong and there may be trouble. Even stylists can tell a client not to wash their hair and flatiron it everyday (guilty…again) until they are blue in the face, but a person’s relationship with their hair can be so personal that they can’t let go of the ritual – “How can I try something different when they don’t know my hair like I do?” You know the old joke, “I’m very attached to my hair…” Ha ha.

However, as an offender myself, I can tell you this: as much as we know our hair the best, our stylists DO have valuable tips that can make our lives easier. For example, a tip from one of our fearless leaders, Cosimo: Always style the difficult side of your hair first and work from the bottom up. Why you ask? If you do the easy side first, you may be too rushed or tired by the time you get to the difficult side and frankly, it ends up looking like crap. Also, combing your hair from the ends up is not only less painful, but causes less breakage than struggling through knots from the top down.

But hair rituals aren’t only about routine and the best way to care for your hair – it’s also about those times when you’re getting ready to go out and you have fun with your hair.

Personally, when I’m getting ready for a night on the town, I like to turn the music way up (to the chagrin of my neighbours, I presume) while I flatiron or curl my hair. I might sing along a bit. And dance too. Maybe.

So this is what I want to know: what are your special hair routines or rituals? How do you have fun while doing your hair?